Three Times Thirty: Celebrating Nine Decades of Collective Inpatient Experience

Quinceañera is the Latin American tradition of celebrating a young girl's coming of age - her 15th birthday. It refers to the festivity, as much as to the celebrant herself. And even though the term treintañera has yet to find its way into the dictionary, the meaning is clear: the tradition of celebrating 30 years. On July 24th, a small group gathered to honor not one, not even two, but a veritable three treintañeras. The festejadas (honorees) donned blinking pink tiaras and Yale-blue sashes inscribed with ‘Proud Winchester 1 treintañera’. Each of the three has worked for three decades at the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service (aka Winchester 1). The affectionally dubbed ‘Winnie 1’ is not a place for the faint of heart, but the challenges of working with its patients and families are commensurate with the many rewards and deep meaning of this clinical line of work. May we all be similarly fortunate to work, nurture and be nurtured, and contribute actively thirty years into our lives of caring for others. ¡Ninety years’ worth of our gracias to Laurie, Karen, and Jesse!